Inge isn’t sure what to expect when she meets her grandmother for the first time. All alone, Inge crosses the water between her home in Copenhagen and her new home-to-be in Bornholm. When she finally leaves the boat, the captain is relieved, and she is missing one of her blonde plaits. A goat ate it while she slept.

Her grandmother doesn’t look impressed at the first sight of her granddaughter and she gives no smiles or kind words on Inge’s arrival. But Inge is well fed, sleeps with her grandmother with plenty of bedding and is soon learning all the jobs to do on the farm.

Grandmother’s animals are Inge’s new best friends and she spends her free time with Henry the turkey, Levi the donkey, a sow and her pigs and two cows. Seeing Grandmother is incredibly fond of her animals, despite her gruff manner, Inge relaxes a little.

It’s not long before Inge’s true nature shines through and Grandmother seems to be softening towards her. She introduces Inge to other ladies in the town, and knits Inge a bright pom pom hat to start her new school with, in order to hide her missing plait. Unfortunately, school is too strict for Inge’s liking, the teachers too boring.

She tries to be good, but soon is rebelling the firm rules for girls and freedom for boys. Dancing during music lessons and singing is not tolerated, but she can’t help it. Being completely silent out of music lessons is also intolerable to Inge’s free spirit. Finally she snaps, running from the school, triggering a search and a story that swirls around the town, bringing smiles to faces that had almost forgotten how.

When Inge learns her mother was a magnet for mischief and so was her grandmother before her, she fits in to her new life better, saves a boy from the streets, and brightens up many more lives around her.

This award winning story by Katrina Nannestad was originally published 2013, and I’m so pleased it has a new lease of life. This story is a real treat, reminding me of Anne of Green Gables.

Inge’s antics and bright, honest personality made me laugh out loud throughout the book as I imagined the scene where she was in trouble again. She is pure goodness without being too good, loving fun and play and being a rough and tumble kind of kid.

She is kind, creative and still grieving for her beloved Mama, and the way this thread is handled within the story is beautifully done.

Set in Denmark in 1911, this story is an absolute gem!

Author – Katrina Nannestad

Age – 7+

Read more reviews of Katrina Nannestad Books (Click on a Cover)

(2023, Harper Collins, Denmark, Bornholm, Grandparent, Grandmother, New Town, New School, Rules, Strict, Manners, Creativity, Animals, Laugh out loud, Turkey, Donkey, Neighbours, Orphan, Thief, Kindness, Relationships, Family, Friendship, Farm, 1911, Historical, Love)